Dorset has close historical links to Newfoundland in Canada, with many of the immigrants who settled there coming from the county. Many Dorset people travelled to Newfoundland to work and trade in Newfoundland, some returning to Dorset in the winter, others making a permanent home there. Poole was one of the most important ports in the trade with Newfoundland, but it was not only port that had links to the Canadian province. Sturminster Mill made swanskin, a waterproof cloth, that they traded with ports in Newfoundland and many people from that area also emigrated.
In this blog we will highlight some of the documents that we hold that can be used to discover more about the links between Newfoundland and Dorset.
Poole was one of the most prominent ports involved in the Newfoundland trade and Newfoundland cod was the source of much of Poole’s wealth. We hold a collection for Poole Borough that contains court records involving those from Newfoundland, disputes over passages to Newfoundland, contracts for the transportation of prisoners to Newfoundland and a few deeds relating to property in Newfoundland. The collection also contains some photocopies of documents from Newfoundland Archives that list the inhabitants of towns in the province as well as parish records from Newfoundland churches.
As well as borough records we hold records for some of the businesses that traded with Newfoundland, the largest of which is the collection of the Lester Garland family.
The merchant company created by Benjamin Lester and his brother Isaac helped them become the most powerful and wealthiest merchants in the Newfoundland fishing trade both in England and Newfoundland towards the end of the 18th Century. Benjamin dominated Poole politics serving as Mayor 1781 – 1783 and Member of Parliament 1790 – 1796. Until 1776, Lester spent summers in Trinity and occasionally overwintered. He married Susannah Taverner and had a son and four daughters. After Benjamin Lester’s death the company was acquired by his son-in-law George Garland and later passed to his sons. This large collection contains the diaries kept by Benjamin and Isaac Lester as well as correspondence and other documents relating to their business. The diaries of the Lester brothers have been digitized by the Memorial University of Newfoundland and are available to view online: https://dai.mun.ca/digital/m_lester/
Within our parish collections you can find apprenticeship records and settlement records for people with Newfoundland connections. Apprenticeship records are a useful source of names and of the trades undertaken by those travelling between Dorset and Newfoundland. Settlement examinations can give a more detailed account of people’s movements between Dorset and Newfoundland as they contain an overview of people’s lives so that their legal place of settlement can be established. There are also settlement certificates for the wives and children of men who have been left in Dorset whilst their husbands have travelled to Newfoundland and who have since become chargeable to the Parish.
Wills are another great source of information about the people of Dorset who owned property in Newfoundland or had relatives overseas. Most wills and administrations relating to Newfoundland are held in the Poole Borough Collection or are a part of the Dorset Wills collection, which can be viewed on the Ancestry website. There are a few other wills that can be found by searching our catalogue.
Other interesting documents in our collection include a brief account of the life of John Masters, a merchant who was born in Newfoundland in 1687, served as the Mayor of Poole and made two unsuccessful attempts to stand as Poole’s member of parliament (D1/2694), and some letters relating to Henry Pynn, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and who was the first man born in Newfoundland to be knighted (D-MIC/X/7 and D-MIC/X/10).
As well as original sources there are several books and articles in our reference library that contain information about Dorset’s links with Newfoundland and the people who moved between the two places.
There are also several useful websites listed below, which are a great place to begin your research into Dorset and Newfoundland:
- Dorset History Centre Blog: https://news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/dorset-history-centre-blog/2021/07/09/from-workhouse-records-sturminster-newton-workhouse-to-newfoundland-part-1/
- The Memorial University Digital Archives Initiative: https://dai.mun.ca/
Of particular interest may be:
The Lester Diaries: https://dai.mun.ca/digital/m_lester/
The Peopling of Newfoundland: https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns/id/33812/rec/2
- Poole History Online: Poole History Online
- Sturminster Museum: https://sturminsternewton-museum.co.uk/
See also:
- Sturminster Swanskin Project: https://emeraldant.com/swanskin-making-history-live/
- The Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Website, containing a useful overview of English Settlement in Newfoundland: https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/settlement.php#:~:text=Newfoundland%20planters%20occupied%20shore%20premises,members%20of%20the%20planter’s%20family.
If you would like a more detailed listing of the documents relating to Newfoundland that we hold, please email us at archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
I’m spending winter evenings (I live in Melbourne!) burrowing around finding information about my ancestors. A four-greats Grandfather was a guy called Joseph White Jeffery (1758-1834), who became an alderman in Poole. His brother John Jeffery was a mayor of Poole and then an MP and ultimately Consul-general to Lisbon. I gather that the Jeffery family was involved with the fishing trade with Newfoundland, and wonder whether you have any more information about them. If so I’d love to hear it and add it to what looks like being an increasingly large volume!
Many thanks,
Nigel Dawson
Hi Nigel – your query has been passed along to one of the team here at Dorset History Centre, and we will be in touch with you directly in due course.